Industrial Valves with Asbestos Packing — Crane Co.

Product Description

Crane Co. is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of industrial valves, pumps, and flow-control equipment in the United States, with operations dating to 1855. For much of the twentieth century, Crane Co. supplied industrial valves to a broad cross-section of American industry, including petrochemical refineries, power generation plants, shipyards, steel mills, paper mills, and manufacturing facilities of virtually every kind.

Industrial valves are mechanical devices that regulate, direct, or control the flow of fluids and gases through piping systems. They are found in virtually every industrial environment where liquids, steam, or pressurized gases must be managed. Common valve types manufactured and sold by Crane Co. included gate valves, globe valves, ball valves, check valves, and butterfly valves, among others.

To function properly, valves require sealing components that prevent leakage around moving parts—particularly around the valve stem, which passes through the valve body and must remain movable while also maintaining a pressure-tight seal. For decades, the industry standard sealing material for this purpose was compressed asbestos packing. Crane Co. valves were manufactured, sold, and distributed with asbestos-containing packing integrated into their design, and replacement asbestos packing was supplied and recommended for use during maintenance and repair operations.

Beyond packing, Crane Co. also manufactured and distributed asbestos-containing gaskets designed to seal valve connections to adjacent pipe flanges. The company’s industrial catalog historically listed both asbestos valve packing and asbestos sheet gasket materials as standard components. These products were used across industrial settings throughout the United States for many decades during the twentieth century.

Asbestos Content

Asbestos packing used in Crane Co. valves and in comparable products of the era typically consisted of braided or compressed chrysotile asbestos fibers, sometimes combined with other materials such as graphite or oil to enhance lubrication and sealing performance. The packing material was installed in a chamber called the stuffing box, which surrounds the valve stem and is compressed by a gland or follower to create a seal against leakage.

Asbestos was selected for this application because of its ability to withstand high temperatures, resist chemical degradation, and maintain structural integrity under the mechanical stress of repeated valve operation. Chrysotile asbestos, the most commercially prevalent form, was commonly used, though litigation records document that Crane Co.’s packing and gasket products were subject to testing and analysis that confirmed the presence of asbestos in various product lines.

Crane Co. also manufactured and sold asbestos sheet gasket material under its own brand, and the company’s published technical documentation historically acknowledged the use of asbestos in its sealing product lines. The company’s internal records have been subject to extensive discovery in civil litigation, and plaintiffs alleged that Crane Co. had knowledge of asbestos hazards well before adequate warnings were provided to end users.

How Workers Were Exposed

Exposure to asbestos from Crane Co. valves and packing materials occurred primarily during installation, maintenance, and repair activities. Industrial workers across a wide range of trades and settings encountered these products throughout the working lives of valve installations.

Installation: When new valves were installed, workers prepared pipe systems and fitted packing into stuffing boxes. This process often involved cutting, compressing, and shaping packing material to fit, activities that litigation records document as capable of generating respirable asbestos fiber releases.

Repacking and Maintenance: Valve packing degrades over time due to heat, pressure cycling, and chemical exposure. Routine industrial maintenance required workers to remove old, compressed packing material and install new packing—often referred to as “repacking” a valve. This task required digging out hardened, degraded asbestos packing from the stuffing box, frequently using picks, screwdrivers, or other hand tools. Plaintiffs alleged that this removal process released significant quantities of asbestos fibers into the breathing zone of workers performing the task.

Gasket Work: Removing flanged connections required cutting out or scraping away deteriorated asbestos gaskets, a process similarly alleged to release asbestos fibers. Workers installing replacement gaskets sometimes cut new sheet gasket material to size, generating additional fiber release.

Bystander Exposure: Workers in proximity to valve maintenance operations—pipefitters, boilermakers, laborers, helpers, and general industrial workers—were exposed to airborne fibers released during these tasks even if they were not directly handling the materials.

Industrial facilities that relied heavily on steam or process piping, such as refineries, chemical plants, power stations, paper mills, and shipbuilding facilities, contained large numbers of valves requiring periodic repacking. Workers in these environments might have performed or witnessed hundreds of valve repacking operations over the course of a career, resulting in cumulative asbestos exposure that plaintiffs have alleged caused mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Litigation records document that Crane Co. valves and associated packing products were present in a wide range of industrial settings across the United States, and that workers in those settings were exposed to asbestos fibers as a result of routine use and maintenance of these products.

Litigation Status

Crane Co. has been a defendant in asbestos personal injury litigation for several decades. Litigation records document that large numbers of plaintiffs—including industrial workers, pipefitters, maintenance mechanics, and others who worked with or around Crane Co. valves and packing products—have filed claims alleging that exposure to asbestos from these products caused serious and fatal diseases.

Plaintiffs alleged that Crane Co. knew or should have known of the hazards associated with asbestos-containing packing and gasket materials, and that the company failed to provide adequate warnings to workers who used and maintained its products. Crane Co. has contested liability in many cases, including on the basis of the “bare metal defense”—the argument that a manufacturer is not liable for asbestos-containing replacement parts or packing supplied by third parties. Litigation records document that courts have ruled differently on this defense across jurisdictions, and the legal landscape continues to evolve.

Crane Co. does not maintain a prepackaged asbestos bankruptcy trust. The company has remained a solvent defendant and continues to litigate asbestos claims in the tort system.

Individuals who may have legal options include:

  • Industrial workers who regularly repacked or maintained valves in refinery, power plant, shipyard, or manufacturing environments
  • Pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, and maintenance mechanics with documented exposure to valve packing materials
  • Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or asbestosis following occupational exposure
  • Family members of deceased workers who died from asbestos-related disease

Steps to Take

Anyone diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease who worked with or around industrial valves should consult with an attorney experienced in asbestos litigation. Documentation supporting a claim may include employment records, work history affidavits, Social Security earnings records, union membership records, and co-worker testimony establishing the presence of Crane Co. valves and asbestos packing at specific work sites.

Because statutes of limitations apply and vary by state, individuals with potential claims are advised to seek legal consultation promptly following diagnosis.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Information is drawn from publicly available litigation records, regulatory documentation, and historical product information.